Cruz, Mariners hand Twins 100th loss
MINNEAPOLIS -- Nelson Cruz hit two solo home runs and Jesus Sucre continued his hot hitting since his recall from Triple-A with a two-run homer as the Seattle Mariners held on for a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins, who lost their 100th game and will finish with the league's worst record and the top pick in next year's draft.
Cruz had four homers in the series, including one in each game for Seattle, which kept pace in the American League wild-card race. The Mariners remained 2 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the second wild card after the Orioles beat Arizona 2-1 on Sunday.
Taijuan Walker (7-11) pitched 5 1/3 innings for the Mariners, allowing three runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out seven. Edwin Diaz finished with his 17th save in 19 chances.
Minnesota is on pace to surpass the club record for losses in a season (102 in 1982) after Hector Santiago (12-10) could only last 5 2/3 innings while surrendering four runs, including the three homers. The Twins finish the season with six games on the road against the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox.
Cruz has enjoyed playing at Target Field, and he certainly made the park look small in the three games. Cruz homered off the facing above the batter's eye in center field on Friday at an estimated 455 feet. Saturday, he reached the third deck in left field for what was determined by MLB's Statcast at 493 feet, the second-longest homer in the majors this season.
Sunday, he led off the second with a 430-yard blast into the second deck in left field. In the sixth, Cruz grimaced and was attended to by medical personnel for what appeared to be a wrist or forearm injury when he swung through a Santiago pitch.
On the next pitch, he drove a liner to the first deck in left field and appeared to wince as he followed through on the swing. He was later taken out with left wrist soreness.
Cruz has a 10-game hitting streak at Target Field, and he's hit .442 (19-for-43) with nine homers and 16 RBIs.
Sucre's first homer of the season came in between Cruz's shots. Leonys Martin led off the fifth with a walk and Sucre homered to left.
In four games since being recalled, Sucre is 10-for-14 hitting with five RBIs.
The power displayed backed Walker's third win in four starts. The big right-hander has allowed three runs or fewer in each start.
Brian Dozier singled and came around to score on a double play to open the scoring in the first for Minnesota. Max Kepler hit his 17th home run of the season in the second to retake the lead after Cruz's first homer.
Robbie Grossman had three hits for the Twins and scored on Juan Centeno's single in the sixth.
The game was delayed momentarily in the first when home plate umpire Jerry Layne was shaken up after taking a foul ball off his mask. Layne stumbled backward and was immediately grabbed by the catcher, Centeno and Robinson Cano.
Layne was evaluated and stood with his hands on his knees for several minutes before leaving. He was diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms.
NOTES: The Mariners started Shawn O'Malley at shortstop against the left-handed Santiago. Ketel Marte has slipped to a .258 average this season and is hitting .211 in 142 at-bats from the right side. The switch-hitting O'Malley has hit .250 with one homer in 92 at-bats against lefties. ... The Twins have homered 41 times in their past 25 games, the second-most in baseball during that stretch. The 193 home runs this season are the fifth-most in Minnesota history, just behind the 196 hit in 1986 and 33 behind the club-record 225 set in 1963. ... The Twins conclude the home portion of the schedule with a 30-51 record. The 30 home wins are the lowest since winning just 29 at the Metrodome in 1995. ... The middle of Seattle's lineup in Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager have a chance to be the first set of Mariners' teammates to all finish with 30 or more doubles, home runs and at least 100 RBIs. Cano needs eight RBIs to reach the mark and Cruz needs three doubles. Seager needs one homer and four RBIs.